Hoya Carnosa Splash Care - Variegated Leaves & Flowers Tips

Last Updated on March 19, 2022 by Admin

The Hoya Carnosa Splash is a rare, variegated version of the Hoya Carnosa. And you can easily see the difference once you look at their foliage side by side.

The Hoya Carnosa Splash will have silver speckles of varying degrees depending on the plant and individual leaves. On the other hand, the regular Hoya Carnosa features solid dark-green foliage.

This makes it look similar to the Hoya Carnosa Freckles.

That said, the Hoya Carnosa Splash features thick, fleshy, ovate foliage. This makes it look very much like a succulent. However, it is not a succulent but instead an epiphyte.

As such, be careful not to grow or care for it like you would a succulent.

In addition to its long stems and curly, waxy foliage the plant will also produce beautiful, fragrant flowers.

These blooms grow in clusters that forma ball-like shape with many small star-shaped white flowers having pink middles.

It is native to Southeast Asia which makes it a warm weather loving tropical plant.

Table of Contents

Hoya Carnosa Splash Plant Care

Light Requirements

The Hoya Carnosa Splash needs bright, indirect light. Make sure to avoid direct sun and very intense light as this will turn its dark green leaves yellow and make them look dull. If left there for long periods of time, it will likewise burn its leaves.

That said, the Hoya Carnosa Splash will survive this location. But you end up with messed up foliage which you’ll eventually want to prune.

So try to avoid this as much as possible.

One common mistake that I’ve seen is that some owners treat their Hoya Carnosa Splash like succulents. In part this is because of its thick, waxy leaves. Also, many online references refer to many hoyas as succulents, which is not the case,

As such, you don’t want to treat your Hoya Carnosa Splash like a succulent.

For example, the plant is not able to tolerate strong afternoon light like succulents do. In fact, you want to avoid leaving it near a south facing window which receives the longest and strongest sun exposure during the day. This light is often too much for the Hoya Carnosa Splash unless you have acclimated it to that kind of condition.

Instead, look for a bright location in the east or west facing windows. It will happily take the gentle morning sun.

But filter the afternoon light or distance the plant at least a few feet from the window so the sun’s rays don’t come into contact with it.

On the other hand, while the Hoya Carnosa Splash can take low light, this is another environment you want to avoid because the plant will not blooms without bright light.

Temperature

The Hoya Carnosa Splash likes moderate to warm climate conditions, ideally between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is used to this is as is comes from Southeast Asia which experiences warm to hot weather throughout the year. In fact, they have strong sunshine through the winter and you can easily walk around in a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops in those countries between December through February without any problems.

Thus, the plant enjoys tropical weather which makes it easy to care for at home.

But you want to watch out for the cold.

Since it does not experience a lot of this, it also does not have a lot of tolerance to low temperature weather. Keep it away from places under 55 degrees as much as possible.

By the time the conditions hit 50 degrees, you’ll already notice its growth slow down or almost stop as it struggles with the cold.

As such the plant is best kept outdoors in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 to 12. Below zone 10, you can bring it outside during the summer. But make sure to take it back inside once the temperature drops under 55 degrees.

Humidity

As mentioned the Hoya Carnosa Splash is a semi-succulent. Its thick leaves store water which allows it to tolerate slightly lower humidity than what it prefers.

Therefore, it will be healthy and happy with humidity of 40% and 60%.

While still a bit on the highest side for most homes (which average between 30% and 50%), most states should have enough moisture in the air to grow it as a houseplant.

The only exceptions are the lowest humidity states like Nevada and Arizona whose desert regions can experience humidity of 30% or slightly below that on average.

If this is the case, try to increase moisture in the air to help it out.

You can use a humidifier or mist the plant. Although I’m not a huge fan of the latter because too many people will over mist it to the point where leaves stay wet, or they spray the flowers with water.

Both are no-no’s.

However, if you mist it properly with regularity everything should be find.

Other options are to use a pebble tray or place it near other plants so their collective transpiration increases vapor above them.

How Often to Water Hoya Carnosa Splash

Again, the Hoya Carnosa Splash can tolerate some dryness because of its thick succulent-like leaves. Additionally, because it is epiphytic, you want to allow the soil to dry out a bit before watering.

On average thing comes out to around once a week or once every two weeks of watering.

The plant generally likes to stay moist during the warmer months. And much drier during the winter months.

The easiest way to do this is to water when the top 2 inches of soil has dried out. This will prevent overwatering which the plant is susceptible to.

You can likewise water from the bottom if you find that you have a hard time timing its frequency.

Bottom watering has a lowering risk of overwatering as you let the soil absorb the moisture on its own.

Thus, you can place a container filed with water about halfway or a quarter of way. Then place the pot in the water for about 10 minutes or when the top soil feels a bit moist, which ever happens first.

Then, take the water container out and let the soil completely drain.

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Hoya Carnosa Splash Potting Soil

In addition to having the right watering routine that adapts to different times of the year, the other aspect of keeping the plant’s roots healthy is to use the right potting soil.

In its natural habitat, the Hoya Carnosa Splash does not live in the soil. Instead, it lives clinging onto trees which allows its roots to get a lot of airflow.

Thus, while they get wet from the rain, the roots are able to quickly dry because of the good air circulation.

This is why the plant needs light, airy, well draining soil.

An when you water, you want to soak the entire root ball then allow the soil to completely drain right after. This mimics how the Hoya Carnosa Splash’s roots get their moisture in the wild.

Therefore, it is very important that the soil is able to drain the liquid fast enough after soaking so the roots don’t end up standing in water for long periods of time.

The simplest way you can achieve this is to combine

2 parts peat moss
1 part perlite

You can likewise use an African violet mix or a well-draining succulent soil if you don’t like having to make your own potting mix (and prefer buying something form the store shelves).

If you have succulents or cacti at home and have soil for them, you can use either:

Equal parts of cacti mix with orchid mix and perlite
Equal parts of potting soil with succulent & cactus mix

Both will work well too.

Fertilizer

The Hoya Carnosa Splash needs fertilizer to grow optimally. And for best results, you’ll want to have 2 kinds on hand.

A high nitrogen fertilizer – you can use a liquid houseplant fertilizer or an orchid fertilizer. This is for foliage growth and development.
A high phosphorus fertilizer – this is for when the plant is about to bloom and when it is flowering. You can use a bloom booster which will help with flowering.

For the most part, you’ll be using the standard or balanced houseplant fertilizer. But once the plant is ready to bloom and during its flowering stage use the bloom booster to prolong the blossom period.

Once a month feeding is all the Hoya Carnosa Splash needs. And feed it during the spring and summer. There is no need to fertilize in the winter.

Flowers / Blooms

Once the Hoya Carnosa Splash matures, it will have the capability to bloom and produce beautiful flowers. And like the Hoya Carnosa, its blooms come in spherical clusters of small, white star-shaped flowers with pinkish-red centers.

However, you should not assume that the plant will just automatically bloom on its own. It needs quite a bit of encouraging. Without which, you may never see its beautiful flowers.

The most important factor to helping it bloom is bright, indirect light. It likes and needs a lot of light in order to flower.

Additionally, keep the plant underpotted. Its roots like being in a tight spot and the stress of being rootbound increases the chances of flowering as well.

This is why many growers will keep their hoyas in the same pot for 5 or more years.

Pruning

The Hoya Carnosa Splash is a climber. And this is how you’ll find it in the forests of Southeast Asia.

It also has long vining stems that will eventually get longer, Thus, it can reach lengths between 6 to 10 feet indoors if you let it.

For this reason, many owners will give it a trellis or shaped wiring to grow. It tends to wrap around these structures which makes the plant look amazing as it gets longer.

However, like all vining plants, you will need to prune the stems to keep it looking neat. Depending on the length you prefer, you can likewise do regular trimming to keep its size controlled.

The one thing you want to be careful is not to prune its spurs or peduncles. That’s because this is where the new flower growth comes from.

Hoyas tend to bloom from old spurs. Thus, if you cut these off, it eliminates any chance of flowering this season as the spurs need to grow back before it can bloom.

How to Propagate Hoya Carnosa Splash

The Hoya Carnosa Splash is something you want to propagate because of its beauty.

Fortunately, it is easy to do this as the plant roots well in both soil and water.

The simplest way to propagate its is to take a cutting form a stem and place it into water or plant into soil.

Make sure to clip a cutting with at least 1-2 nodes and a few leaves on it.

The stem cuttings will take about 4 weeks to root in both conditions (water and soil). Although you’ll be able to watch the roots as they grow with water propagation which is why this is the more popular method used.

Once the roots reach 1-2 inches long in water, you can pot it up into well-draining soil.

How to Repot or Transplant Hoya Carnosa Splash

Because the plant enjoys being pot bound (which encourages flowering), repotting is something you’ll likely want to hold off for as long as possible.

As such, you can repot any time between 2 to 5 years, depending on how tight the plant gets in the container. After a while, it will just have a hard time in the overly small container.

So, you’ll eventually need to repot it.

But other than that, you can leave it in a crowded pot and enjoy its flowers.

Is It Toxic/Poisonous to Humans, Cats & Dogs

The Hoya Carnosa Splash is not toxic to pets and humans. This makes it safe to keep around the house even if you have young kids, cats and dogs running around and playing.

Problems & Troubleshooting

Pests

The Hoya Carnosa Splash is prone to sap suckers. So, it is important to be on the lookout for mealybugs, spider mites and aphids. Wet soil will also attract fungus gnats. Thus, if you see them come around, you’ll want to check your watering routine to make sure that soil is getting enough time to dry between waterings.

Any time you see any of these bugs, treat them immediately because they will grow quickly in number and damage your plant.

Diseases

Speaking of watering, controlling moisture is very important considering that the plant enjoys humidity. The two go hand in hand because they affect one another.

High humidity and lots of water put the plant at higher risk of bacterial and fungal infections. Also, wet soil, or waterlogged soil increases the risk of root rot.

Hoya Carnosa Splash Care – Variegated Leaves & Flowers Tips